Uniting community, one sign at a time

Idyllwild has seen an influx of new residents in recent months. Grace Honor Gaardian is one of them, having made her way up to Idyllwild in September. 

Gaardian is a bit of an adventurer, traveling wherever her heart takes her. She moved to Idyllwild from Green Valley, Nevada where she spent time being with her family, working as an educator for all ages.

For 10 years, Gaardian taught kindergarten through college level students, but spent a majority of her time teaching English to middle school and high school levels.

Gaardian received her bachelor’s in communications and her master’s in education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Being a student herself, Gaardian enjoyed the process of learning.

“I liked school a lot,” she said. “I’m more of an academia type person than a business type person, so I started shifting over to learning economics and entrepreneurship. The world of academia is super different than the business world.”

Since moving to Idyllwild, Gaardian has learned more about her love for art and community. While she didn’t go to art school, she is self-taught and learning how to develop her own artistic approach. 

A member of the Art Alliance of Idyllwild (AAI), Gaardian’s self-expression, despite her lack of technical skill, has paid off. She won the Best of Show award at the AAI Eye of the Artist event at IdyPark in September, the same month Gaardian moved to Idyllwild. 

That was the first award Gaardian ever won, which was a huge accomplishment from someone who described herself as a shy and private artist.

“A few years ago, I decided to extend out and decided to bring my art into the marketplace,” Gaardian said.

Overcoming her artistic shyness and digging into her new path has brought with it a passion for helping people launch their ideas into the business world.

Gaardian said, “I want to extend myself as an artist to improve the marketplace with signs and practical things like designs and displays.”

The idea of touching up business signs within the community, residential signs in neighborhoods, or the “Welcome to Idyllwild” sign on Highway 243 and South Circle Drive makes a visual impact. Signs are one of the first things visitors see, and whether it’s a conscious decision or not, it can make a big first impression.

“Maybe there are signs that the text is faded and needs to be touched up or wood signs that need to be re-stained,” she said. “I feel like the signs are an integral part of the business and economy and so I feel I would be serving a purpose helping with that. I have a lot of real-world experience. I’ve worked on and created large murals. I used to work on signs for Trader Joe’s and I’ve worked with vinyl. I have all this experience that I can bring to the community for half the price, do it right and complete it in half the time than you would find in the art world.”

In the short time she’s been here, Gaardian has already worked on signs in town including Wooly’s, where she worked with the original artist to help touch it up. She’s created a barrel designed sign from the ground up for a new business that will be opening in the near future. 

Promoting Idyllwild online is also important to Gaardian. She has already started creating small vinyls, promoting them to businesses to put in their windows that say #idyllwild and #idy with the intention of promoting Idyllwild’s online presence.

Being in such a small town, Gaardian is not wanting to be competitive explaining, “There are two other sign makers in town that I know of and I’ve met them both. I am happy to be working with them and I never want to compete with them.”

Ultimately, Gaardian sees herself as a community developer, wanting to improve the aesthetics and the community as a whole in whatever way she is capable of.

“I’d like to create a program around community entrepreneurship,” Gaardian said. “I want to see us learn how to work together in really positive communicative ways that are productive.” Adding, “I feel like more of us could enter entrepreneurship in a different way that helps benefit the community. It would be a combination of empowering others and promoting business, letting our economy grow. I feel like we can be stronger when we work together.”

The ideas are endless and the sky is the limit for the community. If you are looking for help with your signs or if you just want to collaborate on ideas, Gaardian’s business Studio 321 is available and can be reached via text message at 702-321-0339.